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Data centers can't run on intermittent sources.
by loeg 2y ago
Data centers can't run on intermittent sources.
- defrost 2y agoWhy not? What stops training AI's during sunlight hours only and hibernating as power decreases?
- loeg 2y agoHuge waste of CapEx for those expensive training GPUs if you can only use them 8 hours a day (same goes for all other data center hardware). Nevermind data availability and other hard problems if your DCs don't run 24/7.
- datadrivenangel 2y agoYou do spot pricing or preemptable instances at the margins to help maximize revenue while minimizing excess carbon. I assume that most cloud venders are over-provisioning because their margins are so good that they'd rather overspend on inventory than miss out on revenue most of the time.
- al_borland 2y agoDoesn’t the data center need to run for all the AI backed services to work?
- defrost 2y agoSomebody needs to run the real numbers ... what activities cost the most energy ( training to get weights, answering queries using weights, etc ), cost of types of energy in terms of external effects (fossil based energy Vs wind|sunlight) demand, bandwidth use, etc. It's not inconceivable that there's an answer that meets needs based on only running the most energy consuming operations during daylight and migrating those operations about the globe during sunlight hours while having less demand operations run at night. There's a real issue that needs addressing surrounding ever increasing global emissions, giving lip service while continuing to increase emission related activity is double think.
- Ladsko 2y agoIt's not the data centers directly causing the emissions anyways.
- cwillu 2y agoAccording to other comments, the data centers are less than 5% of the emissions in question. The data centers simply aren't relevant to this discussion.
- loeg 2y agoThe article suggests that data centers are the majority of energy consumption and more or less explicitly says they're not running on renewable sources. > The vast majority comes from Scope 3 (96%), which includes the supply chain, data centers, and "the use of our products across millions of our customers." > Yet the data centers remain an issue with no easy answer. The race to secure them is in full swing, and it would take years to switch them to renewable energy, experts tell PCMag.